圈外閑人
Amazon專欄作家 http://www.amazon.com/Jennifer-Fu/e/B004Y218FQ
我們到達紐約的時候，機場的上空下著暴風雨，沒有空閑的降落跑道，飛機在烏雲中顛簸著盤旋。安全帶的橙色標誌刺眼地亮著，機艙內一片寂靜無聲，生命的遊絲在空氣中尋找著牽掛。哇的一聲，女兒吐了，穢物進了飛行垃圾袋。然後是一陣掌聲，如雷貫耳，在機艙內經久不息。我們終於脫險了，感謝上帝，感謝技藝高超的機組人員。
女兒寫了《雲中的獅鷲騎士》，算是她東部之行的第一感。
我翻譯的中文
獅鷲騎士是英雄、外交官和世界的拯救者，維羅拉國的許多人，在某個時刻或另一個時刻，希望自己是獅鷲騎士精英中的一部分，所有年幼的孩子都夢想著被選入其中......但是即使是這些被選中的人，也不能保證成為一個獅鷲騎士。
紮克肯定他命中注定會成為一個半拉子騎士，能夠與獅鷲相互結盟，卻在其它方麵都慘遭失敗。當然，人們向他保證，他勇敢、善良、機警，具有一個優秀獅鷲騎士的所有素質，但他們忘了一件事：他患有強烈的恐高症，對於與獅鷲結盟的人來說，那就等於麻煩。
堅硬的喙執意紮入紮克的手掌，憂慮著，紮克笑了。 “尖嘯，這跟你有什麽關係。”
尖嘯撕心裂肺地叫了一聲，用頭輕輕地頂了頂紮克。擁有鷹鷲一般的頭和翅膀，獅子一般的身體，尖嘯對於一般人來說是一個可怕的怪物。紮克歎了口氣說：“我隻是擔心與你的第一次飛行，我真的不認為...... ” 鷹鷲將長滿羽毛的頭埋進紮克的手，紮克輕柔地撫弄著，鬆了一口氣，他找到了停止說話的理由。在尖嘯出生的那一天，紮克就與他相互結盟。在一年的時間裏，尖嘯已經長大得像一匹高大的小馬 - 而且他還在不斷地長大。紮克的思緒被尖嘯的一聲長歎打斷，“我的食物在哪裏？”他哀怨地問。
正在那時，騎士教練出現了，她的身旁是一頭魔鬼般巨大的鷹鷲。身材高大，肌肉發達，揮舞著大砍刀，她是一個完美的獅鷲騎士形象。在所有的獅鷲騎士之中，她是最著名的，已經當了20年的獅鷲騎士。在她的旁邊，紮克覺得自己很失敗，他可能就是一個失敗者。
“紮??克，我今天來幫助你與尖嘯的第一次飛行。如果你害怕也沒關係，大家都會害怕...... ” 騎士教練快速地念了一通按部就班的獅鷲騎士宣言，然後說： “我們去訓練場。”
她沒有提到的是那些沒有完成第一次飛行的人通常被踢出獅鷲騎士學院，冠冕堂皇的理由是不能信任自己獅鷲的人不可能成為獅鷲騎士精英團隊中的一員，不管怎樣，結果是一樣的。
過了不久就到達了訓練場。設置在懸崖的邊緣，這是獅鷲騎士學會如何騎獅鷲的地方。紮克抵製住從邊緣看下去的誘惑，他不想萬一嘔吐在騎士教練身上。
紮克偷偷地瞥了她一眼。“嗯......”他停頓了一下，“尖嘯，呃，我要騎上你。不要 - 不要突然移動或做這類事情。”
尖嘯用頭頂了頂紮克，受到傷害似地嚎了一下，“我不會讓你掉下去。”
紮克笨拙地爬到尖嘯的背上。這是令人驚訝的柔軟，仿佛尖嘯所有的羽毛為紮克組成了一個巨大的氣墊。他移動了一下，並不是那麽糟糕，是嗎？騎士教練帶著鼓勵，微笑地看著他。
突然，尖嘯撕心裂肺地叫了一聲，節節向上，用不穩定的翅膀推進著。紮克抓住尖嘯的羽毛，緊緊地閉上了眼睛。他不想往下看，他可以聽到尖嘯用力拍打翅膀的力度。
過了一會兒，紮克感到尖嘯平穩了，拍打翅膀不再那樣的震耳欲聾了，並且很少有或者說幾乎沒有突然移動。他慢慢地睜開了眼睛。
景色是驚人的，高度也是驚人的。遠遠的低於他，紮克可以看到獅鷲騎士的基地，在一座大山的 邊上。雲朵在紮克身邊浮動，他的胃部立刻開始收緊。紮克不得不再次閉上了眼睛，隻是為了確保他不嘔吐。如果他從這個高度掉下去......
最後，經過了似乎是一千年，紮克感到尖嘯又降落在訓練場了。他再次睜開了眼睛，相比於飛行的搖擺，地麵讓人覺得有點太穩定了。他從尖嘯的背上跳下。
紮克笑了。盡管那樣的高度，飛行與尖嘯是......難以形容。
騎士教練微笑著問：“你感覺怎麽樣？”
“我要再去飛行，”紮克宣布。
女兒的英文原稿
Griffin Riders were heroes, diplomats, saviors of worlds. Many of the people of Valora had, at one point or another, wished that they were part of the elite ranks of the Griffin Riders. It was the dream of young children to be selected to join them… but even these selected people weren’t guaranteed of becoming a Griffin Rider.
Zak was sure that he was destined to be one of those not-quite-riders, able to bond with a griffin but failing miserably at everything else. Sure, people reassured him that he was courageous, kind, valiant, and had all the qualities of a good Griffin Rider, but they forgot one thing: he had an intense fear of heights. For a person bonded with a winged creature, that spelled trouble.
A hard beak jabbed insistently into Zak’s hand. Despite his worries, Zak smiled. “Screech, its nothing to do with you.”
Screech gave a piercing cry, and head-butted Zak lightly. With the head and wings of an eagle and the body of a lion, Screech was a fearsome sight for most to behold. Zak sighed and said, “I’m just worried about my first flight with you. I don’t really think...” The griffin burrowed his feathery head into Zak’s hand, and Zak scratched it obligingly, relieved that he had an excuse to stop talking. Screech and Zak had been bonded the day that Screech was born. In one year, Screech had grown to the size of a large pony - and he was still growing. The imagery was broken when Screech let out a long-drawn sigh. “Where’s my treats?” he asked plaintively.
That was when the Ridermaster appeared with a monstrously huge griffin by her side. Tall, muscular, and wielding a big broadsword, she was the epitome of a perfect Griffin Rider. Of all the Griffin Riders, she was the most well-known, having been with the Griffin Riders for 20 years. Next to her, Zak felt like a failure. He probably was one.
“Zak, today I’m going to be watching you with your first flight with Screech today. It’s okay if you’re scared. Everyone feels scared…” The Ridermaster rattled off the time-honored speech that all Griffin Riders were supposed to say. “We’ll go to the Training Grounds.”
What she didn’t mention was that those who failed to complete their first flight often were kicked out of the Griffin Rider Academy. The rationale was that people who didn’t trust their griffins wouldn’t be able to work as the elite griffin-rider team that they were supposed to be, but the result was the same.
It took a short while to reach the Training Grounds. Set at the edge of a cliff, it was the place where Griffin Riders learned how to ride their griffins. Zak resisted the temptation to look over the edge. He didn’t want to end up vomiting on the Ridermaster.
Zak briefly glanced at her. “Um…” He paused. “Screech, uh, I’m going to ride you. Don’t - don’t move suddenly or anything.”
Screech headbutted Zak and gave a hurt squawk. “I won’t let you fall.”
Zak awkwardly settled onto Screech’s back. It was surprisingly soft, as if all of Screech’s feathers had formed a giant cushion for Zak. He shifted a bit. This wasn’t so bad after all, was it? The Ridermaster smiled encouragingly at him.
Suddenly, Screech let out a piercing cry and lurched upward, propelled by unsteady wings. Zak grabbed Screech’s feathers and closed his eyes tightly. He didn’t want to look downwards. He could hear Screech straining as the griffin flapped his wings as hard as he could.
After a while, Zak felt Screech leveling out. The wing flaps weren’t nearly as deafening anymore, and there was little to no lurching. He slowly opened his eyes.
The view was breathtaking. So were the heights. Far below him, Zak could see the Griffin Rider’s base, which was set on the side of a huge mountain. Clouds floated by Zak, and his stomach immediately started tightening. Zak had to shut his eyes again just to make sure that he didn’t throw up. If he fell from this height…
Finally, after what seemed like a millennium, Zak felt Screech land down on the Training grounds again. He opened his eyes again. Compared to the wobbles of flight, the ground felt a little too steady. He hopped off of Screech’s back.
Zak smiled. Despite the heights, flight with Screech was… indescribable.
The Ridermaster smiled and asked, “How do you feel?”
“I’m going again,” Zak declared.
